Carolyn is a wonderful, long-time Apartment Therapy contributor. She lives in Chicago, is a professor (fancy, no?) and has had a busy year (teaching, blogging, writing a book!) in her new home. She finally got around to sprucing up the bedroom she shares with her partner and their pets and shared the complete design journey with us from blah but fine to simple and stylish.

I knew that we wanted to spend $300 on the makeover total, and it was a fairly strict budget, so I started an Excel spreadsheet that kept track of all our potential costs. I listed all the things that, in an ideal world, I would spend money on: lighting, bedding, accent pillows, curtains, artwork, frames, lighting, plants, etc.

Well, folks, the long-anticipated day has come. Remember this sadness? Well, it's sadness no more! After a Saturday spent covered in white paint and a Sunday spent arranging and rearranging objects, our new and improved bedroom has finally come into being.